


Working Late

by KyattoShaku



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Guilt over incestuous desires, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-02-28 17:46:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18761335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyattoShaku/pseuds/KyattoShaku
Summary: Seto Kaiba looks after his little brother.





	Working Late

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LuciferxDamien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciferxDamien/gifts).



Seto Kaiba almost didn’t notice the dim light under the door to one of the home offices as he walked down the hallway. No one else should have been up so late, he was usually the only one who stayed up until the wee hours of the morning. His first thought was that someone may have left a light on and he pushed the door open to check.

He wasn’t expecting to find Mokuba in the room, hunched close to the monitor as he quietly tapped away at the keyboard. Empty mugs littering the desk indicated he’d probably been there for quite some time, hard at work. Seto remembered vaguely that Mokuba had mentioned looking over some of the coding for the big anniversary event coming up at Kaibaland. Some of the holograms for the show had been glitching during initial tests, but the hardware appeared to be working perfectly.

“Mokuba,” Seto spoke up after a long pause, when his brother didn’t look up from his work.

Mokuba jerked up a little, flinching and reaching a hand up to rub at his eyes. “I didn’t hear you come in. Did you need something, nii-sama?”

“It’s late,” Seto said, looking him over with a frown and a small pang of guilt. He’d been too busy with his own work to check in on Mokuba at any point, even though normally they’d catch at least one meal together.

“I know. When I started looking at the coding for the hologram display I found out someone made a total mess of it. It’s no wonder it’s been crashing, I’m amazed the displays managed to run it in the first place. It honestly might have been better to start from scratch, but there wasn’t time for that, so I’m trying to debug it instead,” Mokuba explained, annoyance warring with exhaustion in his voice.

“You should get some sleep, the code will still be there in the morning,” Seto tried to keep his voice gentle, he knew sometimes he could sound harsher than he intended.

“But if I get it finished now...” Mokuba started, Seto shook his head.

“How long have you had a headache from all of this?” Seto asked pointedly, and Mokuba winced with a guilty look.

“It’s not that bad,” Mokuba said hesitantly, and Seto snorted.

“Just bad enough that you have the lights off and everything as dim as it will go. Have you taken anything for it?” Seto asked, only slightly mollified by Mokuba’s nod.

“Once it kicks in I’ll be fine,” Mokuba said, but it didn’t sound as determined as before and Seto came closer to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Laying down in the quiet will help it work,” Seto said, gently nudging him out of the chair. Mokuba went without protest at the touch, letting himself be steered out of the room.

“I’m just laying down until it goes away, the coding will need to be ready to test tomorrow if everything’s going to stay on track,” Mokuba said stubbornly, and Seto didn’t bother to acknowledge it, if he told the truth they’d just end up arguing and he didn’t want to lie to his own brother.

“Get changed so you’ll be comfortable at least, I’ll be back,” Seto stated, leaving Mokuba at the doorway to his bedroom. Mokuba looked like he wanted to ask why, but he swallowed back whatever he might have said and nodded.

There were ice packs in the freezer as Seto was no stranger to headaches himself and he grabbed one, wrapping it in a soft cloth before taking it back to Mokuba’s room. He hadn’t taken long, but Mokuba was already stretched out on his bed with his forearm pressed over his eyes.

Seto sat down gently on the edge of the bed, trying not to jostle him too much. It was still enough of a movement that Mokuba made a quiet questioning hum, taking his arm off his face.

“This will help,” Seto said quietly, easing the ice pack down onto Mokuba’s forehead and then giving in to the urge to stroke his thick hair back away from his face where it spread out on the pillow. He tried not to do things like that too often, no matter how much Mokuba enjoyed the affection, there was always too much of a risk that he’d figure out the truth.

“Feels nice,” Mokuba murmured, and Seto pretended he was only talking about the ice pack. He started to get up, and then stopped when Mokuba groped at the air, finding his hand and holding onto it. “Stay until I’m feeling better?”

Seto hesitated, Mokuba’s hand warm in his own. There were so many excuses he could make, so many reasons he shouldn’t linger overlong in his brother’s bedroom. He must have hesitated a little too long though, because after a few more long moments Mokuba let go.

“Sorry, you probably have better things to do, or you were on the way to bed before,” Mokuba said quietly, the disappointment in his voice not quite hidden well enough to fool Seto. That abruptly decided him and he sat back down, taking Mokuba’s hand back in his own.

“I can stay,” Seto said, rationalizing it to himself. It was better this way, he could make sure Mokuba gave in and fell asleep rather than trying to drag himself back to the computer.

“Thank you,” Mokuba whispered, squeezing his hand, and then he let the quiet settle over the room as Mokuba’s breathing slowly steadied.

Seto didn’t say it, couldn’t say it, but he was always so proud of him. Mokuba had grown into an impressive young man. He was as shrewd and dedicated at managing Kaiba Corp. as Seto himself and Seto could rely on him completely. He handled events and organization with a tact that Seto lacked, but he could be just as ruthless when the occasion called for it. If he were anyone but his brother…

But he was, and Seto hated himself sometimes that he wanted more.

Only when he was certain Mokuba was asleep did he ease the ice pack away, tugging the covers up without waking him. Seto leaned over, pressing his lips to Mokuba’s chilled forehead and stroked his fingertips gently over his cheek before pulled himself away.

Seto didn’t breathe until he was safely on the other side of the door and it was closed tight behind him. He didn’t stop and let himself think, quietly striding down the hall away from his sleeping brother.

The computer was still on, the screen lighting back up with a touch as Seto folded himself into the chair, adjusting the monitor to his liking. There was a lot of code to go through before morning.

 


End file.
